40 Days of GRACE - 14
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 14 | OUR GOD – GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL
40 Days of GRACE
Day 14 | OUR GOD – GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL
OUR GOD – GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL
Nehemiah 9:31
“Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.”
The context for today’s verse is that after God allowed His people to be taken captive by the Babylonians and held there for 70 years (which He did because of their blatant SIN and turning their backs on Him), He provided a sympathetic King of Babylon who allowed God’s people the option to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, the city, and the Temple. Nehemiah became the leader of this enormous project.
Finally, after the wall is rebuilt, the people repent of their previous sins with sackcloth, fasting, and dust on their heads. This they did publicly so that all could see the depth of their sincerity of heart and contrite spirit before the Almighty. They confessed their sins publicly and that of their fathers because of the, then, generational curse that God had put on them.
Spurgeon said: “Repentance grows as faith grows. Do not make any mistake about it; repentance is not a thing of days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast as possible! No, it is the grace of a lifetime, like faith itself. Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.”
God could have just destroyed them for all time, as today’s verse alludes to, but GOD is GRACIOUS, long-suffering, and MERCIFUL… for which we all should be exceedingly glad!
Remember: MERCY is God withholding from us what we DO deserve, and GRACE is God giving us what we DON’T deserve.
God was being both gracious and merciful to His people here. And God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Prayer: LORD God, thank You for the mercy and grace You showered upon me. Amen.
Nehemiah 9:31
“Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.”
The context for today’s verse is that after God allowed His people to be taken captive by the Babylonians and held there for 70 years (which He did because of their blatant SIN and turning their backs on Him), He provided a sympathetic King of Babylon who allowed God’s people the option to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, the city, and the Temple. Nehemiah became the leader of this enormous project.
Finally, after the wall is rebuilt, the people repent of their previous sins with sackcloth, fasting, and dust on their heads. This they did publicly so that all could see the depth of their sincerity of heart and contrite spirit before the Almighty. They confessed their sins publicly and that of their fathers because of the, then, generational curse that God had put on them.
Spurgeon said: “Repentance grows as faith grows. Do not make any mistake about it; repentance is not a thing of days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast as possible! No, it is the grace of a lifetime, like faith itself. Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.”
God could have just destroyed them for all time, as today’s verse alludes to, but GOD is GRACIOUS, long-suffering, and MERCIFUL… for which we all should be exceedingly glad!
Remember: MERCY is God withholding from us what we DO deserve, and GRACE is God giving us what we DON’T deserve.
God was being both gracious and merciful to His people here. And God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Prayer: LORD God, thank You for the mercy and grace You showered upon me. Amen.
Posted in GRACE